


"With This Ring"

by WithywindlesDaughter



Series: Ocean's Blvd [3]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Asexuality, Gay Marriage, HIV/AIDS, Loss, Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-08
Updated: 2014-10-08
Packaged: 2018-02-20 08:47:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2422550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WithywindlesDaughter/pseuds/WithywindlesDaughter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is actually part of the "Ocean Blvd - Side Stories" set.  GreenSorceress  suggested that it be posted as a stand-alone story and, for once, I am smart enough to take good advice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	"With This Ring"

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GreenSorceress](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreenSorceress/gifts).



> In "Ocean Blvd" Ori wears a wedding ring but does not have a partner. This is that story.

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

 

 

**“With This Ring…”**

 

 

Ori stumbled as he ran across the parking lot, chasing the little dog that ran with long fur flying like flags from its ears, its gold leash trailing loose.  He nearly dropped the bags he was carrying in his rush to capture the little animal.  “Tricky, no!  Don’t run where the cars are, Baby!” Tricky-Woo made for the door of the hospice facility they were visiting and Ori could hear a flurry of furious barking.

A tall, well-built man wearing jeans and a blue button down shirt was standing near the door, a smile on his strong face.  Ori came huffing up to see Tricky bouncing animatedly around a fat little pug who was wiggling like he might explode, the two dogs barking enthusiastically.  He was laughing as he grabbed the packages that were falling from Ori’s arms.  “Little devils.  Here, let me help you with those!”

“Oh, thank you!”  Ori couldn’t even bring himself to be upset as he looked at the little dogs who were now wrestling playfully on the sidewalk.  “He got away from me when I was unloading the car.  Usually he’s very good about staying with me.”

“I think he saw Stanley and had to come get him,” the other man commented.  He was taller than Ori by quite a bit, and while Ori was small and slender this man was rangy and athletic.  He tucked the packages under one arm and extended his hand.  “Dwalin, by the way.”

“Ori, and it’s really nice to meet you.”  Ori was surprised to find himself smiling up at the other man.  With his close-cropped balding hair and broad shoulders he wasn’t really Ori’s type – but then no one was Ori’s type.  Maybe if he had a type this man might be it.  But he was friendly and obviously appreciated very small dogs.  “I volunteer.  Tricky’s my assistant.  He visits everyone.  It helps bring their anxiety levels down.”

The other man smiled at him.  “Physical therapist.  Stanley likes to help.”

Ori beamed.  “Nice to meet you Dwalin.  And you Stanley.”

Dwalin held the door for him and they walked in the door together, chatting amicably, little dogs tugging at their leads.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Ori and Dwalin sat across from each other at the white folding table set up in the living room of Ori’s small apartment.  “How long have you been doing this?” Dwalin asked.

Ori tore open a box of gallon-sized ziplock freezer bags.  “Two years.  A friend of mine was in the hospice and I realized how many people there didn’t have anyone with them, so I started putting together care packages to hand out when I visited.  It kinda became a regular thing.”

Dwalin smiled as he picked up an assortment of colorful toothbrushes and dropping them into the bags.  “That’s nice.  I make quilts.”

“You make quilts?!”  Ori nearly giggled at the thought of this very masculine man sewing a quilt.

Dwalin shrugged.  “A lot of my clients get cold.  It’s symptomatic.  They lose circulation and they can’t get warm again.  They’re too expensive to buy so I signed up for a quilting class.  I was surprised how many men showed up.”

Ori smiled.  “Well, maybe in this area.  But I think that’s a great idea.”

“How long have you lived here?” asked Dwalin.

“I grew up here.”  Ori stacked several full bags into a cloth shopping bag.  “My mom and dad had an appliance store over on Cherry Ave.”

“Do they still?”

“Not anymore.  My mom passed away when I was young so my older brothers raised me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay.  My brothers really love me and I got to grow up in a really beautiful place.”

Dwalin nodded and passed over a stack of bags. 

“How about you?”

Dwalin opened up a box holding small tubes of hand cream.  “I grew up in the desert east of here.  It’s kind of wide open and flat, but there are still a lot of areas that aren’t developed.  Most people just drive through it on their way to Vegas.”

“The desert is lovely, especially in spring.  My brother Nori used to take me camping at Joshua Tree.  We’d go when the wildflowers bloom and we’d go watch the Leonids fly across the night sky.  One night we sat in the starlight and he called the coyotes in.  I was scared but he would never let anything happen to me…”  He trailed off with a blush as the other man smiled at him.

“It is beautiful, and I miss that part of it.  But there’s a lot there I don’t miss.”

Ori nodded.  Long Beach was an open community where people were free to live and love openly.  Not every place was.  “How long have you been here?”

“I met my life partner about ten years ago and moved here to be with him.  Never went back.”

“Oh, you have a life partner?”  Of course this man had a life partner.

“I did.”  Dwalin picked up his phone and thumbed across the screen.  He showed Ori a picture of a man with blond, shoulder-length hair and a scruffy growth of beard.  He was slouched in a relaxed pose, scowling good-naturedly at the camera.  “Frerin.  He passed two years ago.”

“I’m so sorry.”  Ori handed him the phone back. 

Dwalin shrugged.  “That’s why I volunteer at the hospice.  He was there in the last year and the staff became my support system.”

Ori nodded.  Some people who lost family members stayed to volunteer, at least for a while, it helped with the loss of their sense of purpose.  He glanced at the sofa where Tricky-Woo and Stanley were sprawled out exhausted after an afternoon of play.  “It’s good to have friends.”

Dwalin smiled back at him.  “Yes, it is.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Ori’s first trip to the fabric store was an exciting event.  Large shelves holding colorful bolts of cloth towered over him and there was just stuff everywhere!  They each grabbed a cart and Dwalin led the way to the fleece section.  “This is so soft!”  Ori ran his hand over a bolt of fuzzy blue cloth.

“I like to line them with microfiber fleece.  It’s gentle on compromised skin.”  Dwalin pulled down several bolts in dark and pastel colors.  “I use a thick batting for warmth and piece together the topsides out of mixed squares of quilting cotton.”

“Oh, look!”  Ori had wandered over to a shelf of novelty cotton prints.  “There’s Superman, Batman, My Little Pony…”  He picked up a bolt with images of Snoopy and Woodstock all over it.  “I love this!  They’re my favorite!”

“I like these too,” Dwalin answered.  “I just can’t think of anything to use it for.”

Ori looked closely at the material.  “Well, they need pillowcases.”

“Pillowcases?”

“Yeah.  Pillowcases get fluids spilled on them all the time and have to be changed out.  Maybe some of these.”

“Don’t see why not.”  Dwalin tossed a few bolts into Ori’s cart.  “Let’s give it a try.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“I don’t think this room is big enough anymore.”  Dwalin was looking at his spare bedroom with a critical eye.  There was a quilt-in-progress laid out across the bed, a sewing machine shoved up against one wall, an ironing board and bins full of sundry material. 

Ori stood next to him, a full head and shoulder shorter.  “Where else would you put it all?”

“I can clean out the garage, set up shop down there.”

“Might work.”

They spent the rest of the afternoon working on the garage.  The dogs helped.  Dwalin hauled junk out to the trash while Ori sorted things for the Goodwill.  In the end they had managed to carve out a clean space with some empty shelving on the side.  Dwalin surveyed the square footage.  “That’ll do.”

They trudged back upstairs, the tall man falling a little behind the rest.  Ori looked at him with concern.  “How are you feeling?”

“A little tired.  We got a lot done.”

“How about I fix something to eat while you put your feet up?”

“Yeah, I think I might do that.”

Dwalin stretched himself out on the sofa and closed his eyes while Ori occupied himself in the kitchen.  He smiled at the quiet sounds of busyness filtering in from the other room.  Ori was humming off-key as he worked, some kind of show tune if he wasn’t mistaken.  Dwalin realized it had been a long time since the sounds of life had filled his home and that thought made him feel a little lonely.  Frerin had always laughed at his attempts to cook.  He was a terrible cook.  A wave of melancholy struck at him.  Frerin’s smile, Frerin’s laughter, the gaping hole Frerin had left in his heart.  The sound of the sewing machine blocked out the silence.  Stanley had made him get up and moving every day.  But he had always been teetering on the edge of it.  Dwalin reached up and clasped his hands around two rings that hung on a gold chain beneath his shirt.

“I don’t want you living like this.”

“Like what?”

“Like… here.  Like your life begins and ends at that door.”

“But you’re here.  Fre, you are my life!”

“No, this is a hospice.  This is where this life ends for me – but not for you!  This makes it too hard to see you like this.”

“This isn’t hard for me.  It’s what I pledged when we stood up and took our vows.  I’m going to see it through to the end.”

“You’re making it hard to let go.”

“Then don’t.  Don’t go.”

“I love you.”

Dwalin gave the rings a squeeze.  “I love you, too.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Ori rubbed the bridge of his nose and leaned back against the sofa, closing his eyes.  Dwalin looked over at him.  “You ok?”

“Yeah, just all this studying makes my head swim.  Tell me again why I decided to do this?”

“Because writing doesn’t pay.”

“And…”

“And because you could earn money helping people as a respiratory therapist.”

“Oh yeah.”

Dwalin’s smile became serious.  “Ori, why don’t you take the guest room?”

“You know, I just might.  I’m a little tired.”

“No, I mean,” Dwalin clasped his hands together, “move into the guest room.  You’re here more than you are there, I enjoy having you and the boys would love it.”

The truth was, he had been spending most of his time at the condo.  It was bigger than his apartment with a better kitchen.  The two men spent their off-time working on care packages or quilts or playing with the dogs.  There was a quiet sense of ease between them.  A rare sense of happiness and contentment that didn’t need words.  It was unspoken and it made the silence when he wasn’t there even harder to live with. 

Ori looked back at the older man seriously.  “Move in here as what, exactly?  Your tenant?  Your roommate?”

“My friend.  The object of my affection.” 

They had spoken about it – in a roundabout sort of fashion, neither one of them wanting to make declarations, but now here it was.

Ori fiddled with his glasses.  “You know that I don’t –“

“I know.”

“Not that I’m not capable, it’s just not there for me.”

“And you know why I don’t.”

“You could, you know.  Find someone else who is positive.  Use protection.”

“But that’s not what I want.”  Dwalin reached over and took Ori’s hands in his.  “I need someone who will share my heart, share my home, my life for the time I have left.”

Ori frowned.  “Don’t talk that way!  It’s not a death sentence.  Not anymore.”

“We all die, Ori.”  Dwalin rubbed his large hands over the smaller ones he was holding on to.  “Maybe I’ll live another forty years.  Maybe not.  But four or forty, I want you with me.”

“Even if this is all there is?”

“Even if.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Ori and Dwalin laid back on the arm of the sofa in the condo near the sea and listened to the sound of the rain pouring down while Casablancaplayed on in the background.  Dwalin could tell by the crease in his partner’s forehead that something was troubling him.

“What.”

“Hmph?”  Ori looked up at him from his spot on Dwalin’s chest.

“What is it?  Something’s bothering you.”

“Oh, nothing really.”

Dwalin reached up and pulled the quilt down from the back of the sofa to drape over them.  The Ugly Quilt.  It had been one of his first efforts and he hated it so much that he couldn’t bring himself to foist upon somebody else so he kept it.  Now it kept them warm from the cold rains washed ashore by the el nino.  “It’s not nothing, now tell me.”

“The paper is sending over a photographer tomorrow to take pictures for my piece on the hospice.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Not really.  Always some person from across the bridge who wants to document the local gay culture.”

“I see.”

“They always think it’s going to be some fluff piece with pictures of men holding hands on the beach.  Stupid crap like that.”

“But you’ll still get your story published.”

“Yeah, but I don’t like anyone making light of the work we do there.”

Dwalin smiled and gently squeezed his shoulder.  “And if he does, I’ll run him off.”

“You’re such a brute,” Ori replied sleepily.

Dwalin laughed a low, soft laugh, pulled the quilt up tighter and drifted off.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“Stanley, what are you doing?”  The stocky, grey pug was staring intently up at Dwalin instead of running around the dog park with Tricky-Woo.  Ori tugged his grey cardigan tightly against him.  “Go play!”

Stanley huffed, baked at Dwalin twice and then gallumped off with a snort.  Dwalin smiled.

“Was that some sort of a secret signal you two have?”

“It’s something he used to do when Fre was coming home.”  Dwalin answered.  “He would always know.”

“Does he still do it?”

Dwalin raised his hand to cover a barking cough.  “Every once in a while.  Makes we wonder sometimes.”

Ori reached up a hand to rub his back.  “I don’t like the sound of that.”

“Just the weather.”

“I don’t care.  We can stop and get you checked out.”

“You take good care of me.”

“I know.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“Okay, I just want you to relax.  I’m just going to do a few test shots to see how the lighting is holding up.”

Fili walked around the folding table in his rented studio space and looked at the computer monitor.  He and Ori had been friends since they worked the hospice project together.  The young, blond photographer was respectful of their relationship and he and Dwalin got along well.  The three of them hung out at Bombur’s at least one night a week drinking and playing darts.  Now Ori and Dwalin were sitting as models for the show Fili hoped one day to put together.

He looked at them through the monitor and noticed the lighting was making Dwalin’s weight loss more evident.  “Hang on, I want to adjust these.  Make them better.”  He knew they wanted one for a formal portrait – even got dressed in suits, Dwalin with his open neck collar and Ori in a skinny tie.  He moved the lights and looked at the monitor again.  He hadn’t noticed the subtle changes in Dwalin’s appearance until now.

“Everything okay?”

Fili looked up at Ori and blinked.  No.  It was not okay.  “Yeah, I just a little nervous when I’m working on my project.”

Dwalin laughed.  Such a gentle sound for such a large man.  “I’ve seen your work.  You have nothing to be nervous about.”

Fili smiled at that.  For some reason this man’s approval was very important to him.  “Test shot, now, so I can see how it comes through.”  He hit the button and a light went on and off.  “Better.  Much better.  And… here we go!”

As they jumped up from their seats Ori’s phone started chirping at him.  “Time for your meds.”

“I think they’re in my bag.”  Dwalin stretched his lanky frame.

“I know where they are.”  Ori headed for the kitchen.

“There’s good water on the kitchen counter,” Fili called after him.  “Or juice in the fridge if you want it.”  He turned to see Dwalin looking intently at the monitor.

“What do you need to do to these now?” he asked.

“Some digital processing to make up for any problems.  Sometimes I take things out, smooth things over.”  Fili slowly scrolled over the pictures they had taken for his review.

Dwalin nodded.  “I want him to have a good one.”

“He will.  I promise.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Two men lay stretched out in the back of an old Ford pickup truck, gazing up at the desert sky hanging sharp and clear over Joshua Tree, waiting for the bright pinpricks of light to come streaking across their field of vision, with an ugly quilt cast over their laps and a radio playing quietly on from where it was perched on top of the cab.  Off to the side a small tent was pitched, but for now this was more comfortable.

“There!  Just there!”  Ori pointed and laughed with excitement.

Dwalin hugged him a little tighter to him, gathering that laughter and hoarding it into himself.  “Just relax your vision,” he said softly.  “Let your focus go and you’ll see more of them”

They spent the next couple of hours watching the sky, oohing and ahhing as bigger stars shot across the darkness.  “This is so much more beautiful than I remember it.”

“How long has it been since you’ve been here?”

“Oh, I must have been in high school.  Nori and I used to camp out.  I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed it.”

“I like your brothers.  Although Dori did run a background check on me.”

“He what?  Why am I not surprised?!”

“Right after you moved into the condo.  They were just looking out for you.”

“I wish the boys could be here with us.”  Ori’s comment was followed by a thin, reedy wail sounding off in the distance.  He looked over the side of the truck.  “Then again, maybe not!”

“Too many critters out here would eat them,” Dwalin replied.  “My mother always had cats and they learned fast to get inside when they heard that sound.”

They were quiet for a while, listening to the many voices of the desert coming to life in the cool darkness around them.

“We should have a cat.”

“Where did that come from?”

“I don’t know.  I always been very partial to orange cats.”

“The boys wouldn’t know what to do with a cat.”

“Dwalin…”

“Yes?”

“Thank you.  For this.  For everything.”

Dwalin looked over at the small man who shared his life.  “It has been my privilege.”

 

I like the way your sparkling earrings lay

Against your skin so brown

And I want to sleep with you in the desert tonight

With a million stars all around

And I have a peaceful, easy feeling

I know you won’t let me down…

 

Above them the heavy sky turned on its axis, the stars rotating on their journeys – where from, long forgotten, where to, they did not know and two souls in the back of the truck cared only for that moment – that scared moment – to be complete and with each other.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“I came as soon as I got your message.”  Fili’s voice was soft in the quiet of the hospital.  The room lights were low, TV off for the night, nurses speaking quietly among themselves.  Only the beeping of the oxygen and heart rate monitor going.

Ori turned away from the darkened doorway.  “He’s finally asleep.  He’s been rather combative since I brought him in.”

“He didn’t want to come in?”

“No.  I think it scares him.  But he’s got everything on paper.  No vent, no feeding tube, DNR.  I’m his designated decision maker.”

“How bad is it?”

“It’s just an infection.  He’s had them before but this one went bad so quickly.  His CD4 test came back very low.”

Fili stood and digested that thought.  The loss of T-helper cells indicated a systematic collapse of the lymphatic system.  It just wore out after years of fighting the virus, leaving the patient wide open to a whole host of infections and other diseases, some potentially fatal. 

“What can I do to help?”

“You can house sit for us, look after the boys while we’re here.  Dori brought my laptop and a change of clothing but I don’t know how long we’re going to be here.”

“I can do that.  Have you gotten any sleep?”

“Not yet.  They set up a bed for me in his room but I’m too wound up.”

“Want me to bring you something to keep you busy while you’re waiting?  Magazines?  All my DS games?”

“I thought I would get to work on that article about the head injury recovery program they have here.  Did you know Bombur’s cousin gets therapy here?  He was in a motorcycle accident and do you think I’m being selfish?”

“Selfish?”  Fili was astounded.  Ori had never been selfish all the time they had known each other.  “Are you kidding me?  You’re the least selfish person I know.”

“But I’m out here talking about work when my life partner is asleep in a hospital bed.  I should be watching him.”

“Watching him sleep?”

“Yes.”

“You’re not selfish Ori.  If you could sleep I would say go lay down.  But if you’re going to just lay there are wind yourself up into knots over things you can’t change then do something else.”

“Okay.  I’m just, you know…”  Ori wrapped his arms around himself.

“Normal.  You’re normal.  And in a while you’ll get tired and go to sleep and then you’ll wake up together.”

“You know…”  Ori put a hand up to his face.  “You know, it wasn’t until he started getting cold that we started sleeping in the same bed.  He just can’t stay warm.”  And then the tears came.  He never cried in public.  Certainly never in front of Dwalin.  But the rushing inevitability of what was coming was upon him now and he knew from that point on every moment, every decision, every consideration would be with the knowledge that this was not his to keep.  It was slipping away from them and there was nothing they could do to change it.

Fili gently rubbed his back.  This wasn’t the first friend he’d seen go through this but it never got any easier.  There was no It will get better.  NoYou’ll pull through.  It wasn’t like that.  This disease was just not like that. 

How many decades had Dwalin lived knowing he was positive?  He was old enough to remember the beginning – when people were diagnosed and then they were gone.  A potent cocktail of drugs and therapy had given him the gift of time.  Time for a life. Time to find a husband and time to see that husband slip away.  And then Ori.  And then Ori.

There would just be no good ending on this.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

Ori and Dwalin stood on the sand facing each other, white rose petals drifting around their feet in the breeze while Tricky-Woo and Stanley looked on.  Both dogs were bedecked with sparkling white ribbons.  Likewise, both men were decked out in white suits and rose boutonnieres.  Around this little family spread an ever-growing circle of close friends, relative and well-wishers, all waiting for the sun to slip low and color the western sky.  They looked at each other and smiled.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

 

Balin Fundin stepped up in his dignified minister’s frock and white hair.  “It’s time.”

The crowd quieted, just the sound of the low waves now behind them.

 

“It is written that the greatest of all things – the most wonderful experience in the world – is love.  Dwalin and Ori, into your lives has entered a deep and nurturing love, and you have asked me to help you celebrate and affirm this love.

 

We would call your partnership a Holy Union, for wherever there is love, God also abides…”

 

They were watching each other – Ori glowing radiantly and Dwalin beaming down at him.  Maybe they heard the words.  Maybe they just felt them settle around them.  More than just words but the sacred blanket of community that acknowledged that love and took it to heart.  They stood together before God and the others stood for them - strong for them, in joy for them, vowing to support them in this decision and the challenges it would bring.

 

“With this ring I thee wed…”

 

Dwalin had spoken of it first.  Ori did not need assurances of his love, but Dwalin felt the need to do this thing so here they were and neither of them could be happier.  Dori and Nori had been worried, Bofur and Bombur had leapt into the idea with reckless abandon, Fili had just felt wistful but agreed to stand in the wedding party.  It was Bifur who told them to do it now while they still had time.

 

“With this community who affirms and honors it, I say that these two men are joined in a union that is both recognized and cherished by God and by this community.  Let all others respect the threshold of their home.”

 

As the sky blazed color behind them a cheer went up from the crowd, from the guests to the casual onlookers observing from the beach as Dwalin leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss onto Ori’s lips.  There wasn’t need for more.  It was just understood.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Later, at the party held in the banquet room at Bombur’s, Dwalin paused as he circulated among the guests and laid a hand on Fili’s shoulder.  “Fili I wanted to thank you for standing with us today.”

“Thank you for including me.”  Fili raised his glass.  “Usually I’m behind the camera at these things.”

“You’ve been a good friend.” Dwalin replied.  “Hopefully you’ll be doing the same.”

Fili huffed.  After a long string of unsuccessful relationships he wasn’t sure he would ever be the one exchanging vows.  “When I do I hope you and Ori will stand with me.”

“We will.  I promise.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

They had a good year.  Then several.  Every day was borrowed and cherished.  Ori threw himself into learning to cook organically and how to manage the regimes of medications.  Dwalin fixed up the condo when he had energy, slept when he didn’t, and endured excruciating hours in the offices of his attorney, making sure his final wishes would be carried out.  Their friends merged, families started spending time together.  A big orange tomcat moved in and spent sunlit afternoons on Dwalin’s lap, content to purr and be petted.  Ori still volunteered his services at the hospice, Dwalin brought the boys when he could.  They still made care packages – first Fili and then Gimli and Legolas sitting at the white table with them to stuff bags.  The quilting project was passed onto Dori who had the strength and energy to do it.

And when the days left to borrow ran out they gathered in the hospice to wait.  Friends and family circulated in the visiting area.  Always Ori was in Dwalin’s room, two little dogs on the bed.  Some days – these last days – some were better than others.  Dwalin was tired and ready to go.  Dwalin was angry and didn’t want to leave Ori.  Dwalin was in pain and needed more and more until his breath came in hoarse gasps. 

Finally, on the last day, that last day, Ori sat at the bedside of the only man he’d ever loved and said his goodbyes in whispered voice, two small dogs his only witness.

 

“I’ll never forgive you for ducking out on me like this.  I’m so angry!  How can you just go?  You know how much your being hear means to me!”

 

“Remember that day we volunteered in the catering truck?  That was so much fun!  I loved doing those things with you.”

 

“I ordered three urns, as per your instructions.  One is going to Balin, one is going to Joshua Tree, one is for me.  We’ll do it when the Leonids are passing over.”

 

In the end he lay down on the bed and lay his head on the large chest one last time and listened to the last beats of a noble heart. 

 

It was done.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

It was a good party – starting directly after the services and moving to Bombur’s and then to Razzle.  Per Dwalin’s instructions no one was allowed to wear black, there was a live band and much alcohol.  Ori had a private day where he collapsed into Nori and Dori’s arms and wept like he would never stop.  Then he got up and set into motion the wake they had arranged and they all came together one last time to celebrate a life well lived.

In time Ori came to the realization that the sun still rose in the east and set in the west.  Dogs needed walking.  The hospice still needed his help.  The condo felt empty without the sound of another voice so he asked Fili to take the spare room, just for the time being.  And life went on.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

And years later Ori walked in the door late to find Fili asleep on the sofa, Kili asleep on his chest and LA Story playing quietly in the background.  He poured some kibble for the boys, scratched the cat on his way past Dwalin’s chair and quietly clicked the TV off.  He debated waking them, but instead pulled the ugly quilt off the back of the sofa and draped it over them before heading off to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Live in my house, I'll be your shelter  
Just pay me back  
With one thousand kisses  
Be my lover and I'll cover you

Open your door, I'll be your tenant  
Don't got much baggage, to lay at your feet  
But sweet kisses, I've got to spare  
I'll be there and I'll cover you

I think they meant it  
When they said you can't buy love  
Now I know you can rent it  
A new lease you are my love  
On life, all my life

I've longed to discover  
Something as true as this is…

“I’ll Cover You – Reprise” - RENT

 

**Author's Note:**

> This honestly has to be one of the hardest things I have ever written and I tried very hard to get it right. For all of you whose hearts I have broken - I am sorry.


End file.
